Government taking economy on right track: Nirmala Sitharaman

November 25, 2017, 11:41 AM IST

New Delhi: The confidence exhibited by some of the top international rating agencies in Indiaseconomic trajectory shows that the Narendra Modi government is steering the economy in the right direction, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said here on Friday.

Her comments came after rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) on Friday kept India’s sovereign ratings same as last year’s BBB- with stable outlook.

“S&P Global has lauded the Narendra Modi government for passing a number of reforms that address long standing impediments to the country’s growth, whilst affirming India’s existing rating at BBB-/A-3,” Sitharaman said citing the various steps of the government that the rating agency considered in its detailed analysis of the economic situation.

“The report asserts that the effort of the government to expand tax base by demonetisation has increased the number of tax registrants and introduction of GST will further accelerate government revenue.

“Reforms such as demonetisation and GST may have led to some quarterly cooling but the medium term outlook for growth in India is favourable. This is based upon private consumption, ambitious public infrastructure investment program and a bank restructuring plan that will help investments,” she added.

She said that the S&P report has inferred that over the next two years, growth in India will “remain strong” and India will maintain its “sound external accounts position”.

“After World bank’s recognition of India’s reforms in improving ease of doing business and Moody’s upgradation for India’s sovereign credit ratings, S&P too has recognised the strides the Indian economy has made under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

She said the report has also appreciated India’s efforts in improving monetary credibility and has noted the presence of “strong democratic institutions and free press”.